Okay, The Elvis Presley Murder is there just for sensation– and to please Yoast SEO. WordPress people will understand this reference. But ever since the spouse and I decided to renew our wedding vows at the Graceland Chapel this June, with Elvis officiating, I have repeatedly run into books with Elvis as a character. It has proved a little disconcerting.

I will start with my own book, a Chloe Boston mystery, Viva Lost Vegas, where Chloe and Alex’s elopement is interrupted by someone bumping off Elvis impersonators and causing them to detour from their Las Vegas nuptials roadtrip. Believe me when I say that I am sincere about hoping our own nuptials are not disturbed by a madman trying to assassinate the King. After all, there will be two of them at the ceremony.

Other books that belong to the category of Elvis Presley Murders…

Though he appeared several times in the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries, Bubba first makes his debut in Club Dead (book 3) by Charlaine Harris. Sookie has to find out who kidnapped her vampire boyfriend, Bill Compton, and figure out a way to rescue him from a gang of angry vampires. Elvis, now a vampire himself and not quite right in the head since he was ‘turned’ while drug-addled by a worker at the morgue, is Sookie’s faithful guard and sidekick. In spite of his blood-sucking status, this Elvis is very sweet.

My latest brush with coincidence is in The Elvis Enigma (Vegan Vamp Mysteries Book 3) by Cate Lawley. Elvis is alive–and he’s missing! Except he’s not exactly Elvis. And he’s not alive…in the traditional sense since his fandom has made him into a demi-god. But immortal or not, he is definitely missing and Mallory, newly turned vampire, is on the case.

If vampire Elvis and demi-god Elvis aren’t strange enough, then how about ghost Elvis? He made a very touching ghost in Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil.

For those who prefer Elvis Presley Murders without paranormal elements…

Kill Me Tender: A Murder Mystery Featuring the Singing Sleuth Elvis Presley (paperback- there is no Kindle edition) by Daniel Klein. When Elvis Presley fan-club presidents, all teenage girls, start dying of unknown causes, Elvis becomes concerned enough to personally investigate the deaths. Other titles in the series include Blue Suede Clues, Viva Las Vengeance, and Such Vicious Minds.

Hm. I guess that’s it. Perhaps the universe isn’t talking to me and I just have Elvis on my mind. If you would like some other mystery recs  for murders with singing celebrities try  Murder In The Theater.